The government says it has, for the final time, asked that North Korea safely manage equipment and materials South Korea left behind following the suspension of the construction of two reactors in Shinpo, South Hamgyeong Province.

A senior government official said Thursday that since South Korean staff at the light-water reactor construction site withdrew from Shinpo in January 2006, the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) has been sending letters to the North every summer, asking that Pyongyang be sure that left-behind equipment and materials are safely stored.

The official said Seoul has yet to confirm whether its request in regards to the materials at the construction site has been carried out. He said, however, that Seoul has no plans to send additional letters to the North making inquiries on the matter.

The official said the equipment, vehicles and materials left behind in the North are estimated to be worth some 45-point-five billion won.